Perhaps more than any other month, July is synonymous with baseball. There’s the All-Star showcase, which will take place two weeks from today, as well as no major events in other sports (sorry, WNBA fans).
20 teams are in action tonight as part of DraftKings’ featured MLB DFS slate, which features a prize pool $22,000 larger than usual. Here are two pitchers, three infielders, and three outfielders I like for tonight’s action.
Set your DraftKings fantasy baseball lineups here: MLB $222K Bat Flip [$50K to 1st]
PITCHER
Stud
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox, $10,800 – It might be a good thing that the Dodgers didn’t play yesterday, because it allowed Yamamoto to move past a rough June. During the month, he went 1-3 with a 4.21 ERA after pitching to a 1.97 ERA through the end of May, giving up three or more earned runs in three of his five starts. But I have high expectations for the Japanese star tonight, especially given that he got through five innings of one-hit ball in just 56 pitches (26.05 FPTS) in his most recent outing before it was cut short by rain. The White Sox have the league’s worst offense overall and were even worse against righties than lefties.
Value
Tyler Anderson, Los Angeles Angels at Atlanta Braves, $6,300 – Speaking of rough Junes, Atlanta went just 11-15 as it has failed to get a miserable season back on track. That’s despite expected heroics from Ronald Acuña Jr. ($6,300), who slashed .360/.491/.596 during the month, but the Braves couldn’t get anything going on offense around him, ultimately finishing with the league’s fourth-worst OPS. Atlanta’s current offensive struggles make Anderson a value play, especially since Acuña has actually been worse against southpaws than righties. The veteran had his best fantasy performance in nearly two months last Tuesday, tossing 4.2 innings of one-run, two-hit (16.1-FPT) ball against the Boston Red Sox.
INFIELDER
Stud
Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants, $6,000 – Marte has been incredible as of late, slashing .330/.414/.650 with nine homers and 24 RBI’s (11.5 FPTS per game) in the month of June, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t continue his hot form into July. He doesn’t have the easiest matchup in general — San Francisco has the second-best pitching staff overall, including a sub-three bullpen ERA — but of any Giants starter, Hayden Birdsong ($7,500) isn’t a terrible one to face. In Birdsong’s most recent start, he conceded seven runs in just four innings (-8.4 FPTS). The switch-hitting Dominican has also been much better against right-handed pitchers.
Stud
Yandy Díaz, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Athletics, $4,500 – I’ve been all in on Tampa Bay’s other two infield sluggers this season, Jonathan Aranda ($4,600) and Junior Caminero ($4,900), but I haven’t paid so much attention to Díaz. But he’s been the best of the three during the last 10 games, slashing .425/.500/.700 with three homers and six runs scored (11 FPTS per game), posting a 96th-percentile average exit velocity. Díaz should be fine against Jeffrey Springs ($6,800), who, despite being one of the Athletics’ more reliable pitchers, still pitches for the Athletics. Springs throws a four-seamer on more than 40% of his pitches, and Díaz has posted a .484 wOBA against four-seamers this season, one of the best marks in baseball.
Value
Mauricio Dubón, Houston Astros at Colorado Rockies, $3,900 – On the surface, picking Dubón, who’s averaged just 4.4 FPTS per game this season, doesn’t seem like the most prescient move. But given that he’s going to receive regular playing time while Jeremy Peña ($5,700) remains on the injured list with a rib fracture, it might be worth the risk. If Dubón’s ever going to put up good offensive production, it’ll be at high altitude against a Colorado team starting Chase Dollander ($5,000), who owns a 6.06 ERA this season. At minimum, he’s not going to strike out — Dollander ranks in just the 18th percentile in strikeout percentage — and the Rockies have been the league’s sixth-worst fielding team this season.
OUTFIELDER
Stud
Juan Soto, New York Mets vs. Milwaukee Brewers, $5,600 – Soto is finally playing up to the form that incentivized New York to give him a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract. Although the Mets have been atrocious over their last 16 games, going just 3-13 to drop behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East lead, Soto has not, slashing .283/.415/.679 (10.6 FPTS per game) across that span. Freddy Peralta ($9,300) is a good pitcher, but Soto’s strengths exacerbate all of his weaknesses; he gives up barrels at just a 30th-percentile rate and has below-average control. Meanwhile, Soto produces barrels at a 96th-percentile rate and has led all of the major leagues in walks in four of the past five seasons.
Stud
Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Guardians, $5,200 – Suzuki has been a bit boom-or-bust as of late, as in his last eight games, he’s had three 20-plus-FPT performances and been held to single digits in the other five. That might work in his favor against Gavin Williams ($8,300), who’s had little game-to-game consistency as a fantasy asset and also leads the league in walks issued. Suzuki ranks in the 84th percentile in chase percentage and ranks in or near the league’s top decile in all of the power categories. Williams has also allowed an .814 OPS to right-handed batters, minimizing Suzuki’s platoon disadvantage.
Value
Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds, $3,900 – The Red Sox haven’t been the topic of much MLB discourse since dealing Rafael Devers ($5,100) to the San Francisco Giants, so Anthony’s recent uptick in form has gone somewhat under the radar. But the 21-year-old is starting to see the ball well, posting a .314/.429/.429 slash line over his last 10 games (7.3 FPTS per game), and though he’s still only hit one home run in his career, he still ranks in the league’s top quartile in barrel percentage and average exit velocity. Brady Singer ($8,000) allows barrels at just a 12th-percentile rate and has given up eight of his 10 homers to lefties. It wouldn’t be a huge shock if Anthony got his second long ball tonight.
